Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Buick dealers sold imported Opels from Germany to buyers who were looking for small or sporty cars. One of those was the Opel GT, produced from 1968 to 1973, and it had a passing resemblance to a smaller version of the Chevrolet Corvette. But that’s where any similarities ended, as it was an enclosed car with a 4-cylinder engine. The seller has two of these from 1969 and 1971, along with a picked-over parts car that probably gets thrown in to sweeten the deal. Located in Casper, Wyoming, this duo (or trio) is available here on craigslist for $5,000. Kudos to “Zappenduster” for the tip.
More than 100,000 copies of the Opel GT were produced over the original six-year run. All of them relied on existing Opel hardware such as engines and transmissions, which involved inline-4s and 4-speed manual transmissions. We assume the majority of them were sent to the U.S., and they all had hideaway headlights that were mechanically controlled. The GT was discontinued in the States when it became apparent that meeting U.S. safety standards wasn’t going to work.
The seller inherited these cars from his father. One of them was used by the father in autocrosses and other racing events, while the other was used by the seller while in high school. We don’t know much about the parts car other than that not much is left of it, and the seller has no photos. The seller put a deadline for the sale in the listing, but it has since come and gone, and the cars are apparently still on the market.
We’re told the racer is a 1969 edition and it once had a Buick V6 under the hood. It may have been 25 years since this car did much of anything. The 1971 was used in the 1990s for going to and from school and was parked in the shed where it lies now when those days were done. It was an accident along the way, and the repairs were not professionally performed. All of these machines have valid titles. Do you see a future life here or maybe a cadre of parts for other projects?
What, no propeller?
My sister had a blue Manta, it was a cute fun little car. Good gas mileage and sporty.